792 
SOCIETY MEETINGS. 
I will mention a few of the ways in which infection may 
be introduced : From the animal supplying the milk ; from 
the persons handling the milk; from various substances 
that come in contact with or are introduced into the milk. In 
how many ways the animal may be the source of infection it 
would require too long a time to describe ; but tuberculosis and 
other constitutional diseases, local disease, internal and external, 
of the udder or teats suggest abundant causes of infection. The 
determination of these causes can only be decided by the 
veterinarian. At present, so far as I know, in the city of St. 
Joseph, there is no municipal control of the milk supply. At 
this time it would not be proper to go into detail, how tuber¬ 
culosis, diphtheria, scarlet fever, and typhoid fever can be sown 
broadcast by an impure milk suppl}^ That diseased and tuber¬ 
culous cows are in the dairy herds is true, if the observation 
and experience of other cities is true. 
The speaker then recited a few instances coming under his 
notice of dairy cows infected with tuberculosis. He also cited 
a number of provisions that should be observed in milk inspec¬ 
tion, and then continued : 
The municipality through the Council or Board of Healtli, 
have the undoubted right to take the whole subject of meat and 
milk inspection under city control, and it is for them to enact 
ordinances 'protecting the public from diseased meat and im¬ 
pure milk. The salary of an educated and competent vet¬ 
erinarian would approximately be $t 200 a year, perhaps $1600. 
Place the meat and dairy inspection under his control as a city 
official, and license all butchers and dairymen, but hold them to 
a strict conformity to the ordinance or revoke license, and 
publish the fact. That the public health would be safeguarded 
by such municipal control and the mortality of the children be 
decreased there is no doubt, or the experience of cities that have 
complete control is without value. Human life should not be 
so cheap that hundreds may be sent to untimely graves through 
lack of sanitary measures so easily enforced and at such a small 
outlay of money. To neglect wise and thorough control of the 
meat and milk supply for any city is to invite the dissemination 
of diseases the most prevalent and fatal in their character. Are 
the people willing to take the risks ? I am fully persuaded in 
my own mind that the lack of such inspection and control is 
due not to willfulness but to indifference and ignorance of the 
true conditions. Let the people agitate until their will is 
obeyed. 
